Warwickshire
opener Nick Knight completed a miserable Test match that could lead to
calls for his axing from the England side.

Two
matches into his recall he was promoted to open in the second innings
of the game against Zimbabwe.

The
tourists had caught the England batsmen out by surprisingly declaring
on their overnight total of 285-4 as they tried to put the match into
a winnable situation.

Unprepared
for a spell at the wicket, and in muggy conditions that saw the ball
swing, England could only manage 147 – one run less than Murray
Goodwin’s excellent effort yesterday.

Knight
was given a golden opportunity to stake a claim at the top of the
order when he was promoted to replace Mike Atherton.

The
former skipper had spent the entire day off the field yesterday with a
stomach upset, and the rules meant he was not allowed to enter the
fray until the fall of the fifth wicket.

That
was sooner coming than expected, as 19-year-old debutante Nkala snared
Ramprakash and skipper Nasser Hussain.

The
possibility of another embarrassing England defeat moved a step closer
when Heath Streak blasted Knight’s middle stump out of the ground to
make the score 12-3.

It
was an emphatic end to a nervy performance for the Warwickshire
batsman. Having made just six to go
with his one run in the first innings, and with centrally-contracted
Yorkshireman Michael Vaughan returning to fitness, the selectors will
consider a switch.

Knight
will want to take on the West Indies on his home track at Edgbaston in
a fortnight, but an unconvincing display here has made that less
likely.

In
his defence he wasn’t the only English batsman to struggle, as the
fall of wickets became steady.

A
brief resurgence between Hick and Stewart ended when captain Andy
Flower held on to a tough tumbling catch to his injured left hand.

Flintoff,
looking for a big innings, walloped a mighty six, but soon gave his
wicket away.

So
Atherton came to the crease, seemingly enjoying his appearance as the
best number seven bat in the world.

While
he could cope with the quality of the Zimbabwe attack, others
couldn’t and Schofield and Caddick both departed, before Atherton,
who scored his 1,000thrun at Trent Bridge was also out.

A
typical blazing shot from Darren Gough ended the England innings.

Zimbabwe
had been bold, trying to bluster England out and leave themselves a
reachable target, but 237 was too much to ask.

As
the game meandered to a draw, the sparse crowd was treated to one of
the odder sights. Mark Ramprakash took the ball for the final over and
instead of his part time off-spin, undertook impersonations of the
world’s great fast bowlers.

The
ploy nearly worked – his Malcolm Marshall recorded 72mph – as fast
as some of the Zimbabwe attack and he put Guy Whittall into some
difficulty, and almost added to his precious haul of four wickets.

After
stumps were drawn, Nasser Hussain said some of his players needed more
match practice before taking on the sterner challenge of the West
Indies.

“Everyone’s
going to go off to play county cricket, with the possible exception of
Atherton.

“We
are just going to meet up a day early and get hard in the nets.”

Warwickshire’s
batsmen showed more resolve than England’s, and combined with the
weather to earn a draw with Nottinghamshire.

The
Bears reached 308-5 in their second innings at Edgbaston following
Notts’ record 406-0 yesterday with Dominic Ostler top-scoring with
93.